‘After almost destroying the planet, our families are friends’: the thrilling podcast from JFK and Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, the world came closer toward ruin more so than ever during modern times. This happened when a US reconnaissance aircraft found the fact that Soviet nuclear missile bases were being assembled on the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of American soil. In response, President JFK commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a naval quarantine around the island. The next phase constituted almost 14 days filled with extreme anxiety.

An Unthinkable Threat

The danger was obvious. Should Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, had fired against the other side, a chain reaction involving global nuclear strikes followed by retaliatory strikes could have ensued, thrusting mankind into all-out ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined repeatedly, in volumes, films, as well as TV documentaries. However, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb presents an unprecedented dimension to the story. It is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the leaders that, over 13 days, controlled the destiny of humanity within their grasp.

"What was the Kremlin thinking? What were the American side considering?" ponders Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and a professor specializing in global relations.

In her view, the beauty of the podcast is its endeavor to question: "How can nations hate one another to the point they go against each other?"

"It struck me how spectacular the fact that humans have the potential to be allies or else have the potential to be complete adversaries," states Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and currently a writer as well as lawyer. "We see this dynamic over and over in instances where nations enter into conflict, highlighting the profound irrationality it is to fight."

A Precipice of Catastrophe

What is striking regarding this event was that, since it unfolded so publicly, citizens globally could watch almost as it happened as it moved towards armageddon. Nonetheless, the threat of annihilation was more imminent than most people understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House wanted an airstrike and an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, it is certain the Russians stationed there would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, which would've sunk the aircraft carriers as well as sunk America's largest and most important fleet. In turn, we would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t stands as credit to both leaders, who succeeded in exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy at a time when everyone around them was pushing for military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, matched by a feeling of hope.

The Different Perspective

Yet, during those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was palpable by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts were born shortly after these events, and Nina being taught about it through the Soviet education system, which portrayed a slightly different picture of events.

"You said your parent recalls it, and it was a scary day," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that things are always wonderful or positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, it was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment it was, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start a global war, seen as a positive thing," she continues. Later on, however, that interpretation was not shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a setback for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably even-handed , expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget the known outcome. This effect is, partly, due to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most groundbreaking aspect is the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable that relatives of the leaders of the United States and USSR to appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a sign of optimism.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," notes Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Max. "That is a shame since we connected immediately and now we are friends, which is really great. Ultimately, after almost six decades of almost destroying the world, our families have become friends, suggesting the world is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes with Current Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason why this series feels so necessary is because we now are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to learn